


Kiss of Life

by Moshimma



Category: Unus Annus - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (Past) Mark/Amy, AU - Kiss of Life, Angst, Hugging, Kissing, M/M, Pining, Unrequited Love, but not too much Angst, mostly just cute fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:08:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26557135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moshimma/pseuds/Moshimma
Summary: In a world we’re you need to kiss someone in order to live, Ethan has managed to get by without getting too attached to anyone he didn’t need to. Then, his world changed when Mark finally took him in. Now, Ethan wanted to make sure he was the one to give him a kiss when he needed it.———This work will be deleted the date Unus Annus ends, unless people actually do want it to stay up.Edit: At the request of people and the statements by both Mark and Ethan, it will stay up.
Relationships: Mark Fischbach/Ethan Nestor
Comments: 7
Kudos: 93





	Kiss of Life

Ethan Nestor had kissed about 11 people at this point. Every two years, he needed a kiss. He was one of the few lucky ones, some people need a few kisses every month, but he had the luxury of only needing one every two years, just a month shy of his birthday.

When he was explained how this world worked, he didn’t learn how to value the art of kissing. He only saw it as a form of survival, and he grew to dislike the PDA people seemed to shove in his face when he was about to graduate high school.

But then he moved to LA.

The man who was once his inspiration had given him the chance Ethan deserved, and he knew that, for that, Ethan would forever be in debt to him.

When Ethan finally met the real Mark, the man behind the slau- the man behind the camera, Ethan knew that he was finally with someone who actually liked him.

But they were both straight.

Mark had Amy, and Ethan had whoever he could find, but he always thought,

_what if?_

And when Ethan learned Mark and Amy broke up, he decided to finally think things through. Once, when Mark was sleepy, he told Ethan how long he could go on without a kiss.

”Three months? Really?”

”Yeah. It was hard growing up, but I thankfully have Amy now. I’m not sure how I would have managed without her. She so supportive too. She doesn’t even have to kiss me, she can make it four years, but she still does it for me.”

 _Of course she can make it double my time,_ Ethan thought, _she’s always double what I am to him._

And when they broke up, Ethan began counting the days. He quickly realized he had to put the work in, trying his hardest to think of any plan that wasn’t manipulative or psychotic.

Which was a hard task. No matter how you sliced it, he knew it was wrong for him to come up with any plan that didn’t involve taking advantage of Mark and the trust he had in the younger male.

But still, knowledge is power. And how can he ever have power without _knowing_ how Mark's lips tasted.

 _Yup, I’m a creep,_ he thought, whenever a plan popped up.

At first, the fantasies were simple. Ethan would be over at Mark's place, and Mark had simply forgotten about his kiss-expiration. Ethan would swoop in at the last second, finally kissing him. It didn’t even have to be on the lips, just anything to save him.

Then they got more complex. Ethan would push every single person out of Mark's life and make sure he had nobody else except Ethan, so they _had_ to kiss.

But when Ethan finally stopped to realize about what time of the year it was, he figured out what he could do.

Mark's kiss-expiration landed exactly when Ethan's was, and he knew what to do.

Little by little, Ethan kept telling Mark how anxious he was. The panic attacks he'd have over his kiss expiration, and how he still had no idea what he could do.

”It’s three months away, Ethan, calm down. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

”Mark, it’s literally tomorrow night.”

”What?”

Mark put the skating shoes down, checking his phone out of his back pocket.

”Holy shit!”

”Yeah, it’s literally tomorrow, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Mark stared at the date, dumbfounded.

Ethan swallowed a grin and kept up the panicked appearance, “Do you think it’s illegal to _pay_ someone? Like, since I would die without it, isn’t it like asking a doctor for special medication.”

Mark sighed, closing his eyes, “I've tried that. It’s not illegal, it’s just hard to get someone who would actually let you pay them less than a million dollars. They _are_ saving your life, after all.”

”Damn. Now I’m really going to panic.”

_Just tell me your expiration is tomorrow too, just say it and I’ll try my hardest to not kiss you until tomorrow._

”Ethan, we might have a problem if we can’t find somebody to kiss you.”

”I know! It’s just hard. There’s so much pressure, I just forgot to get someone.”

”I totally understand, I would’ve probably done the same in your shoes.”

_You DID do the same, you just did._

”Mark, what have you done in the past? I know you only have a short time, so you’ve probably lost track sometimes.”

Mark put on a confident face, “What? No. I’m organized about this stuff, unlike you.”

_You’re such a liar._

Ethan turned around, lips pouted, before dropping to the floor, “I’m gonna die tomorrow just because I couldn’t get anyone to like me.”

”Okay, calm down, boy. I’m sure we can find a girl that could peck your cheek or something.”

”I think I’ve waited too long, I might need a _kiss_ kiss.”

”Have you gotten yourself checked out?”

”Not since I moved here. My levels might be super high, I don’t know.”

Mark nodded sitting down next to Ethan, “Then, let’s go.”

Ethan looked at Mark, his eyebrows furrowed, “Wait? Right now?”

”Fuck yeah, right now.”

”And the video?”

”I don’t really like roller-skating, maybe we postpone it.”

”Okay, yeah. I guess.”

———

“This is complete bullshit!” Ethan screamed, the results now in his hands.

Amy nodded once again, frowning at Ethan, “My cousin never makes mistakes on Kiss Levels, I’m sorry Ethan. You’re in critical.”

”Are you sure? This means that I _really_ need a kiss.”

”I’m not entirely sure. Keep in mind that these test are only right 99% of the time. But still, you should probably be safe and assume it’s in critical.”

Ethan shook his head, _this just keeps getting better. I can’t believe it’s all working out._

Amy grabbed the other folder on her desk, handing it to Mark.

They looked at Ethan in a certain way, but Ethan pretendes he didn’t catch them and walked out of the office, closing the door almost completely.

He stopped right before closing it, listening in.

_”Mark, your levels came back almost exactly like Ethan's. You’re in critical too.”_

_”You’re kidding. Please, tell me you’re kidding.”_

_”No. You both need to fully kiss someone, or you will die. If you want, I can make a few calls and put both of you on the list for Kissalatram. It can push your cycles for a few months until you find people.”_

_”That’s not gonna work. Not this close to the deadlines. We’re gonna have to do this the old way.”_

_Amy nodded, “Mark, if you honestly can’t find someone, I can help.”_

_”No. We broke up, it happens. No need to put you through all of it again.”_

_Amy smiled, hugging Mark, “Good luck, please don’t die.”_

Ethan realized Mark was leaving, and quickly moved away from the door.

”Good news, Ethan. I’m a-okay!”

”Great, so I’m dying and you get to live and take all of my subscribers.”

”Don't worry, we’re going out tonight.”

”Tonight, tonight? Or tonight, the next hours? Because it’s already midnight, dude. And by 6pm, I will die unless I get my smack on.”

”Then we better head out to town.”

———

The rest of the day was surprisingly uneventful. Ethan kept trying to seem hopeless, while Mark kept his condition secret. They tried over and over, but they always fell short.

No, literally fell short, why is every woman in LA so tall?

Ethan stumbled into Mark’s house, tears falling down his face. At this point, he was starting to doubt his own plans.

_You should’ve just gotten anyone, why were you so sure you would get to make out with the one and only Markiplier?_

Mark was trying his hardest, but it didn’t seem like enough.

”What do you wanna do?” he asked the younger man as he threw himself on Mark's couch.

”Get the camera out. If I’m dying, I want my last few minutes to actually mean anything. Maybe I can even say goodbye to family or my fans. I’m sure it would be so surprising to find out I died for being too unattractive.”

Mark scoffed, not sure if that last sentiment was supposed to come out as a joke. He pondered what Ethan said, about making the last few minutes count.

Mark set up the tripod and pointed it towards the couch, where Ethan sat down, his eyes still red.

The older man turned the camera on, making a signal. He handed the microphone off, checking the focus.

”What is up my Cranky Crew!” Ethan said, trying his hardest to speak between the tears.

”I can’t believe I’m actually making this, but, if you’re watching this. I... died.”

He looked down at his Apple Watch, “It’s currently 5:45 p.m. on September 23rd, 2020. And as much as I would love to come here with good news, I’m afraid I did something wrong.”

Mark kept quiet behind the camera, letting Ethan speak.

”I was blessed with only having a 2-year period for Kissing-expiration. This means that I don’t get to worry as much as other people, but every now and then, I sometimes forget. And I’m very sorry to say that this is one of those times. I never got my levels checked, and now I’m in critical condition, and I’m going to pass away in a couple of minutes.”

Ethan but his lower lip, trying to explain without losing his Train of thought, “I want to take a second to remind you all, always remember the expiration date. If you haven’t gotten tested in a while or have forgotten about your date, go right now and make sure you have time. And if you don’t, go with your loved ones. Give them the gift of spending the last few moments with you.”

Mark kept looking at the feed, trying his hardest to not cry at what he was seeing. His own best friend, already accepting the fact he wasn’t going to make it.

And the fact that Mark could see his reflection faintly in the glass behind Ethan, it almost made him hate himself. For not thinking of what to do sooner, for waiting so long to even think about the possibility.

”Wait, Ethan.”

Ethan looked behind the camera, his hair slowly starting to lose the color.

”W-What’s going on?”

Mark stood up, showing himself to Ethan. His hair was losing hue by the second, and his body felt weaker and weaker, like his bones were being hit by a million needles.

”Mark! You’re dying!”

”I know. I’m sorry.”

Mark made his way around, sitting next to the younger man.

Ethan began wiping his tears away, but he couldn’t stop them even if he tried.

”Why didn’t you tell me you were also about to expire?”

”I couldn’t let you carry my death all day. This was ‘bout you and I nee- needed you t-to know that.”

”But, Mark, we still have a few minutes...”

Mark closed his eyes, his hand on Ethan’s. He tried to resist the puppy eyes the pale man was giving him, but his mind was too frail to even comprehend the amount of emotions building up inside him.

”Ethan, I’m sorry. I should’ve protected you. I should’ve saved you.”

”Mark. I’m next to my best friend, in LA, dying after living my best life, after getting the chance of a lifetime. You already saved me.”

Mark finally began to cry, not being strong enough to hold the tears back for Ethan.

Ethan scolded himself for being so stupid.

_You could’ve stopped this. If only you didn’t spend half your time with him imagining what his lips feel like._

Ethan sighed, closing his eyes, “It’s my turn to save you.”

With the last bit of strength in him, Ethan moved closer, finally kissing Mark.

He adjusted his head as he took a deep breath in, every second of his life leading up to this moment. Time was almost frozen, as he finally got what he wanted so deeply in his heart.

Mark was on the brink of dying, when he finally felt Ethan crash into him. He didn’t even care how much he hated waiting this long, he was just okay with being saved by someone worth saving.

They both breathed in, color flying back into their bodies. Every millisecond felt like Heaven and Hell were crashing inside, avoiding death by simply pushing themselves together.

Mark finally felt strong enough to move his hands up, grabbing Ethan’s waist. He tried to push Ethan even closer, not getting enough.

Ethan moved his legs on top of Mark, straddling him.

And their lives stood still like that, finally being able to be together.

Ethan opened his eyes, Mark going back to normal. He pulled his head back, staring into Mark's eyes.

”Thank you, Ethan.”

”No, Mark. I had to. I had to pay you back for changing my life.”

”Are you dumb? _You_ were the one who changed my life, you gremlin.”

Ethan smiled, finally at peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Please don’t bother Mark or Ethan, they are both heterosexual men. I only wrote this because I’m trying to get practice for writing, and this is the best way to keep what I want in check.
> 
> If you actually liked it, let me know, I really want to see how I can improve it.


End file.
